Permanent waving



PERMANENT WAVING Filed Feb. 7, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 21, 1940. E. F. SUTER El AL PERMANENT WAVING Filed Feb. 7, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

6:442:11 INVENTORS A BY l ATTORNEYS git) Patented May 21, 1940 we. STATES PATENT OFFICE Kropacsy, London,

England, assignors to Eugene, Ltd., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 7, 1939, Serial No. 255,012 In Great Britain February 10, 1938 9 Claims.

The invention relates to permanent waving of hair and more particularly to a novel method for applying the waving fluid or lotion to the hair and to a novel method and means for wind ing or forming the tress of living human hair about a curler preparatory to the heating and other operations usual in imparting a permanent wave.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and'attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

' The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of. the invention.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing a device embodying the invention being applied in winding a tress;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3+3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of said device;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of said device;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of said device showing the brushes separated; and v Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a modified form of the device.

One object of the invention is to provide a novel and useful method of applying permanent waving fluid or lotion tothe tress of hair which is being prepared for permanent waving. In accordance with the invention the permanent waving lotion or waving solution is applied to the tress as same is being wound or wrapped about the curler. Thus the tress of hair is rapidly and uniformly impregnated with the waving fluid as it is being wound, thereby insuring a very uniform and thorough application of the fluid and obviating the hitherto separate step of applying the fluid to the hair either before or after thewinding operation. In the modern practice of the art of permanent waving, it has been found desirable in many cases to wet the hair on the curling rod with the waving fluid instead of or in addition to applying the waving fluid to the hair externally after it has been wound as by a lotion carryingsachet or the like. in order to get the lotion into the hair before winding it on the curler it has hitherto been necessary to separately moisten each tress to be wound, the lotion being applied thereto by means of a sat urated piece of cotton or the like. In the present invention, however, the lotion is introduced into the hair as a part of the winding operation and preferably by means of the winding device itself which is capacitated to carry a desired amount of the Waving fluid and release same into the hair as it is being wound on the curler, as will hereinafter appear in detail.

The invention is further directed to providing a novel and useful hair-winding device which is adapted to perform the novel step of applying lotion to the hair during winding as hereinbefore is f stated and also to perform a superior winding operation. Said novel winder is adapted to lay the hair upon a curler rod with the hairs of the tress substantially parallel and smoothly and unii'ormly coiled helically along the rod. The con-' struction of the winder is such that each individual hair of the tress is laid and wrapped along and about the rod more accurately and uniformly than is possible by the most expert hand operation. The winding means is adapted to intimately contact and handle practically every individual hair of the tress and to do so without tearing or tightly pulling the hair. Furthermore, the invention avoids the need for the major skill and care and strength now required for winding hair by hand and obviates the long and difficult training and experience heretofore required to wind tresses helically by hand. By use of the device a relatively inexperienced hairdresser can product smooth, flat, tightly wound curls having any desired configuration. The device possesses characteristics of flexibility and adaptability in use whereby it may be applied to curls of greatly varyingdimensions without any mechanical ad'- justment. Furthermore the device is adapted to wind hair of greatly varying strengths, length, fineness and other characteristics, without harming the hair or affecting its strength or vitality. The hair is wound smoothlyv and uniformly and without danger of being torn or pulled or rendered frizzy by the winding operation. The in-v vention in its capabilities is superior to the operation of the human fingers, especially in that the hair is not torn or forced into position by rigid members, but is given a smooth, flexible, Wrapping action comparable to that from the fingers of a skilled operator, while exactly the required amount of tension or stretching maybe imparted to the hair just as in hand winding.

IZU

Broadly described, according to the invention the winder is equipped with a pair of brushes or the equivalent disposed in position substantially parallel with the curler rod and the brushes normally held in coincident pwitions with the bristles of one brush in contact advantageously under spring pressure with those of the other, the arrangement being such that the tress to be wound passes between and across the brushes, so

that thus the hairs are brushed substantially parallel before the tress is laid upon the curler in the rotation of the winder. In accordance with the novel process features of the invention, the bristles of the brush or brushes are saturated with the waving fluid just prior to winding a tress, so that each hair of the tress is wetted with the fluid as it passes through the bristles of the brushes, thereby being thoroughly and uniformly impregnated with the waving lotion throughout the length and depth of the wound curl.

The hereinbefore described method and device produce a curl in which the hairs are wrapped with great uniformity and sufiicient tightness, yet leaving enough space between the individual hairs of the tress to permit rapid and thorough penetrating of the waving vapors and liquid between and onto all of the hairs.

The novel winding device herein disclosed is not limited in use to winding the hair with moisture or lotion, as it is also applicable to winding of hair in the dry state, for which various novel features also afford improvements in the ease of handling, the care of the hair and the quality of the curl. I

It will be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description as well are exemplary and explanatory of the invention but are not restrictive thereof.

Referring now in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, the Winding device comprises two separable brush frames I and 2 adapted to move toward and away from each other and to support the winding'brushes opposed to each other and parallel with the curler rod C. The curler rod is conformably held in the desired position with respect to the brushes of the winder by means of a curved clamping plate 5 which may be opened to receive the curler rod and closed to hold same resiliently against the winder in the desired position parallel to the brushes, the plate 5 for this purpose being hingedly connected to the bottom brush frame 2.

The brush frames I and 2 are adapted to be spring urged together but to be readily separable by manual pressure. As embodied, the upper frame I is provided with two downwardly extending parallel slide rods 6 and I arranged diagonally with respect to the solid rectangular end portion or block 8 of the frame I. The block portion ID of the lower brush frame 2 is similarly provided with two upwardly extending slide rods I I and I2 disposed at the opposite diagonal points of said block I0. The block 8 is bored vertically to slidably receive the rods II and I2, while the lower block II) is similarly bored to receive the slide rods 6 and I, the frames I and 2 thus being vertically slidable with respect to each other. A helical spring I5 is provided for urging the two frames toward each other, said spring being fixed at its upper end to a pin IS in the central bore I I of block 8, and its lower end being fixed to pin I8 in the bore I9 of block II). Suitable finger plates 20 and 2| are provided for forcing the brush frames apart as illustrated in Fig. 6.

As will be clear from the drawings the upper brush 25 and lower brush 26 are preferably of identical construction comprising simply a stock or back from which project a plurality of groups of relatively stiff bristles B. As shown, the bristles are preferably of irregular lengths for the purpose of insuring inter-penetration of the bristles. This may be effected in a variety of ways, such as by providing for the irregularity of length within each bunch of bristles and so that grooves are formed so that there are alternate transverse grooves and ridges or grooves and ridges otherwise disposed. Also, as shown, the bunches of bristles may be inclined with respect to the stocks in which they are secured.

The device is designed to permit ready removal and replacement of either brush 25 and 26, this being desirable as the bristles ultimately soften and lose their strength under repeated applications of the waving fluid. As embodied, the central portions of the brush frames I and 2 are channel shaped to receive the stocks 25 and 26 of the brushes. Said stocks are pivotally and removably mounted within the frames by spring urged studs 30 which project through openings in the side walls of the frame and are seated in centrally-disposed recesses 3I formed in either side face of the brush stock. The studs 30 are fixed to leaf springs 32 which extend along the sides of the frame I or 2, as the case may be, the rear ends of said springs being fastened to the side walls of the rectangular blocks 8 and ID. Thus the brush stock may be readily snapped into and out of position within the frames I and 2.

Means are provided for mounting the brushes within the frames to insure a helical winding action of the tress as the winder is rotated about the curler. As embodied, the ends of the brushes which lie nearest the roots of the hair are given a slight resilient compression and an endwise tilt toward each other, as will be clear in Fig. 3, thus causing the brush to grip most firmly the hairs toward the scalp. Accordingly, as will be clear from Fig. 1, the rotation of the winder about the rod with the tress running through and under the brushes, will cause the winder to back away from the scalp as it rotates, thus imparting a helical winding to the tress, in a manner well known in the art. The tilt and compression of the brushes is imparted thereto by leaf spring fingers 35 and 36 which press the end of the upper brush downwardly and the end of the lower brush upwardly respectively. Said springs are suitably fixed at their opposite ends to the corresponding outer surfaces of the brush frames I and 2 respectively.

Referring now to the mounting of the clamping plate 5, same is hinged about a pin 40 which lies parallel to the bottomlongitudinal edge of the brush frame 2, being mounted thereon by a journal bracket 4i extending from the bottom of the frame. A hinge 42 is journalled about the central portion of pin 40 and is riveted to the lower edge of the curved clamping plate 5. The clamping plate is normally held in closed or upstanding position (Fig. 2) by a leaf spring 43 fixed to and extending from the bottom of brush frame 2 and bearing against the flat bottom edge 44 of hinge 42. Clamping plate 5 may be opened to extend at right angles to its normal or closed position, the spring 43 then bearing against the flat surface 45.

open sufficiently to permit the winder to be clamped against the curling rod C near the scalp of the customer. The free tress, the scalp end of which has already been tied or otherwise suitably fixed to the scalp end of the curler, is then laid between the opposing bristle ends of the brushes, same being separated for that purpose, as shown in Fig. 6. The winder is then rotated, the projecting end of the clamping plate 5 forming a convenient finger hold for that purpose (Fig. 1). As the winder rotates the tress passes through the bristles, the individual hairs being smoothed and straightened and laid parallel to the brush. The bristles nearest the curling rod, especially on the upper brush, press and lay the hairs against the curler, compacting and tightening them sufficiently for the intended purpose. As shown in Fig. 1, a tress has been partially wound in this manner. The winding action is continued until all of the tress has been wound about the curler rod and same may be made fast, as by interwinding a strip of gauze orthe like with the hair near the outer end and fastening same to the curler in any suitable manner. The fastening method disclosed in U. S. patent. to Moulin 2,091,738 has been found effective.

Although the tress may be wound dry, in accordance with the invention the hair is preferably moistened with waving fluid as it is being Wound. For this purpose the bristles B of the brushes are thoroughly wetted with waving fluid or lotion just-prior to the winding of each curl. Preferably the brushes and the adjacent parts of the winder are immersed in a container of the solution before the winding, although the solution may be applied to the bristles in other ways. The bristles are suificiently numerous and thick to pick up a large quantity of liquid which, during the winding operation, readily flows onto and around the individual hairs being wound, thus intimately introducing waving fluid onto and around all of the hairs as they are wound. This is a great advance over the prior practice of dabbing solution onto the curl after winding, because in that case the outer hairs receive the majority of the liquid and the inner ones may remain quite dry, thus producing uneven waves, overheating and inferior results. It will further be noted that with the invention the greater amount of lotion is released on the hair near the scalp end of the tress, where the hair is thickest and requires the most extensive waving action.

When the winder is used for winding hair in the dry state only it is unnecessary that the brushes be removable or interchangeable. Insuch case the construction of the winder may be somewhat simplified by forming the brush frames l and 2 as integral parts or extensions of the brush stocks 25 and 26 respectively.

In Fig. 7 is shown a modified means for separating the upper and lower brushes, in which the brush frames are pivotally mounted about a hinge shift 50 and are separated by manual compression of the arms BI and 52. The brushes and their frames are normally urged together by vention and without sacrificing its chief advan tages.

What we claim is:

1. In the process of permanently waving hair the steps of winding a tress about a curler and applying waving fluid to the hair as it is being wound.

2. In the process of permanently waving hair the steps of winding a tress about a curler from the scalp outwardly and applying waving fluid to the hair as it is being Wound.

3. In the process of permanently waving hair the steps of winding-the hairs of a tress about a curler and wetting said hairs as they are turned about the curler.

4. In the process of permanently waving hair the steps of winding a tress about a curler and applying waving fluid to the hair as it is being wound, and then heating the wound and moistened tress.

5. In the process of permanently waving hair the steps of engaging the free portion of a tress between members, rotating said members about a curler to wind the tress thereupon, and releasing waving fluid from said members onto the tress during the winding thereof.

6. A winder for preparing hair for permanent waving including in combination means rotatable about a curler for engaging a tress of hair and winding same on the curler, said means being capable of holding permanent waving fluid and releasing same onto the hair during the winding thereof.

7. A winder for preparing hair for permanent waving including in combination means for Winding hair about a curler and means for holding permanent waving fluid and releasing same onto the hair during the winding thereof.

8. A winder for preparing hair for permanent waving including in combination means rotatable about a curler for engaging a tress and winding same on the curler, said means comprisbristles adapted to intimately engage the hairs of the tress and individually draw them around the curler and press them thereagainst.

EUGENE F. SUTER. CHARLES KROPACSY. 

